Agenda: museums and exhibitions, wellness, nature and parks, walking and cycling and nightlife in Ostend

14 February 1981. Marvin Gaye arrives by ferry in Ostend, together with his little boy, Bubby. It marks the start of a fascinating story about Ostend, Marvin Gaye and the relationship between the two.
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A bracing tour through the countryside around Ostend. Not everybody is familiar with Ostend's agricultural history. During this tour you can explore what's left of the farmland around Ostend in a recreational manner.
You can go get you free walking map at the Ostend Tourist Office (Monacoplein 2). Enjoy your walk!

Take a stroll in this magnificent 'Kaiyusschiki-style' garden and marvel at the various landscapes which unfold before your eyes. No-one would expect this oasis of tranquillity and contemplation so near to the sea and Oostende’s vibrant city centre.
During Belgian school holidays (with the exception of the Christmas and the spring break holidays), open every day.

The Maria Hendrikapark is an area of about 45 ha situated south of the city centre. The park has a variety of different ponds, open grass areas, two playgrounds and the Koninginnehof with cafetaria and restaurant, rowing boats, pedal boats, a traffic park, baby-carts and a miniature golf course. It is also a paradise for joggers. The park is also called 'Het Bosje'.

Floral Clock. A special creation in which a total number of about 20 000 plants are used to form a unique palette of colour.
The date - made of flowers - is adjusted every day during the summer months.

This sauna and beauty centre is open every day and has 5 different sauna's (bio-sauna, panoramic sauna, dry sauna, sweat cabine and infra-red sauna), a steam cabine, whirlpool, cocooning bath, an indoor and outdoor pool, solarium and garden. In the beauty centre, customers can indulge themselves with a relaxing massage or various beauty treatments by one of the beauty specialists.

A little over 10 ha, Ostend’s Vicogne wood consists of young woodland and polder meadows, while the Vicognezwin retention pond, an old antitank trench and the Spuikom basin provide the area with much-needed water. A winding walk will give you a glimpse of the open polder grasslands while taking you through the woodland populated by a wide variety of small songbirds in spring. Bird lovers are definitely in for a treat along the Schietbaanstraat as the islands in the adjacent Spuikom welcome...

Once upon a time in the 17th century the woodland here was a castle domain. Now, only some tree trunks indicate where the building once stood. A wood with some history then, making it perfect for a walk!

In 1900, Belgian King Leopold II commissioned architect Henri Maquet to design the first royal gallery: an L-shaped, closed and covered walkway between the royal villa and a large octagonal salon. Nowadays it is known by the name ‘Venetian Galleries’, referring to Venice’s classicist architecture. When the Belgian royal family decided they would no longer use their coastal residence, Ostend was given the concession of the entire complex and resolved that the building be used for cultural...